Question & Answer
Question
How do I correctly format a file path source reference location or source reference image in IBM i2 Analyze, such that it is displayed as a clickable link for an Analyst, or loaded as an image?
Answer
When working with source references in IBM i2 Analyze, the system interprets your source reference correctly as long as it is formatted in URL format.
When working with a remote location such as www.example.com/image.jpeg this process is intuitive, but if you are linking instead to a remote file location instead (for example a mapped network drive), this can cause confusion.
Example
c:\files\image.jpeg Loads correctly however
C:\files\image.jpeg Does not load correctly. (Note the uppercase drive letter).
i2 Analyze interprets your input in 2 different ways depending on whether you are entering a source reference location, or a source reference image URL.
When working with source reference locations, i2 Analyze uses the following regex to see whether a url is valid.
/^([a-z0-9]+):\S+$/
This regex checks whether a string starts with some lowercase characters followed by a colon, and if this is not found a link will not be made clickable.
When working with source reference images, the string is passed through to chromium components that then validate whether the URL is valid or not, and if it does not consider it valid the product will report this as an invalid URL.
To understand how to correctly work with source references, it is important to remember that you are providing your location or image in the form of a URL and NOT a file path.
When working with file paths, (local or otherwise) you should format your filepath with the appropriate protocol at the beginning of the URL. So, when working with files, you should use the file:// URL protocol.
Example
file:///C:/files/image.jpeg Loads correctly.
file:///c:/files/image.jpeg Also loads correctly.
Using Google Chrome and dragging and dropping your file to the navigation bar of the window is a useful way to get the URL correctly formatted for you before using it as your source reference.
[{"Type":"MASTER","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB24","label":"Security Software"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SSXVXZ","label":"IBM i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m0z000000cwjXAAQ","label":"i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis->Info Store"}],"ARM Case Number":"TS006477083","Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"All Versions"}]
Historical Number
TS006477083
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Document Information
Modified date:
13 August 2021
UID
ibm16481121